Power BI is turning 10! Tune in for a special live episode on July 24 with behind-the-scenes stories, product evolution highlights, and a sneak peek at what’s in store for the future.
Save the dateEnhance your career with this limited time 50% discount on Fabric and Power BI exams. Ends August 31st. Request your voucher.
Hello
I have this question, when to use dataflow & when to use dataset?
from my understanding dataset contains data+transformations for data +relationships+dax etc, so when i upload my model it becomes a dataset
for dataflow , difference is that i dont have model & dax in it , & transformations are done in powerquery in web
so when to use dataflow & when to use dataset?
in addition if i have a dataset, and i want to transform the data to add some columns etc, how to go back from dataset to the data if i am able to access the dataset, is there a way?
Thanks
Solved! Go to Solution.
@chahineatallah , dataflow is for a common set of tables that need transformations and needs to be used across various projects. Dataflow will become a source for the dataset. Dataflow is a set of tables but not model.
Dataset is a model with a Table , relationship, new columns, and measures. It is ready to be used report.
We can have all dimension tables and the small facts and static tables as dataflows and let all global team uses that without knowing what all needed to build those.
Say, for example, I have an article dimension that uses a few sources including excel. So I made a dataflow global dimenions with Article and few other dimensions.
Then I used that in Sales Dataset and Purchase Dataset and allowed sales and purchase team to use dataset to create report
Dataflows and Dataset Design Pattern implementation: https://youtu.be/zwhJ1hWPcrA
https://radacad.com/dataflow-vs-dataset-what-are-the-differences-of-these-two-power-bi-components
@chahineatallah , dataflow is for a common set of tables that need transformations and needs to be used across various projects. Dataflow will become a source for the dataset. Dataflow is a set of tables but not model.
Dataset is a model with a Table , relationship, new columns, and measures. It is ready to be used report.
We can have all dimension tables and the small facts and static tables as dataflows and let all global team uses that without knowing what all needed to build those.
Say, for example, I have an article dimension that uses a few sources including excel. So I made a dataflow global dimenions with Article and few other dimensions.
Then I used that in Sales Dataset and Purchase Dataset and allowed sales and purchase team to use dataset to create report
Dataflows and Dataset Design Pattern implementation: https://youtu.be/zwhJ1hWPcrA
https://radacad.com/dataflow-vs-dataset-what-are-the-differences-of-these-two-power-bi-components
Check out the July 2025 Power BI update to learn about new features.
This is your chance to engage directly with the engineering team behind Fabric and Power BI. Share your experiences and shape the future.
User | Count |
---|---|
72 | |
67 | |
51 | |
38 | |
26 |
User | Count |
---|---|
89 | |
52 | |
45 | |
39 | |
38 |